Dear parents/ grandparents/ family of a newly born..
The birth of a baby is undoubtedly the most precious and happiest moment in our lives. When all goes well through pregnancy and your baby is expected to be born soon, here are some important facts that would help …
We at KIMS work as a team – the Obstetrics and Perinatology department with the Department of Neonatology.
Getting prepared:
Apart from “medical check ups” for our pregnant mothers, we conduct “Antenatal education sessions”. These are detailed and interactive; conducted by many specialists including Senior obstetricians, Senior nursing staff, dieticians, physiotherapists and Neonatologists. We enjoy talking to you and listening to your queries, and are quite sure you would too… especially when you get to meet other families who are awaiting the arrival of their “bundle of joy”. We believe that meeting you a few days before expected delivery would allay anxieties and help you anticipate what’s is store. Do come and meet one of our consultants in the OP with a free “Perinatal consult” during one of the final few visits to the hospital.
At delivery:
Be rest assured, that every delivery (even those expected to have no complications whatsoever) are attended by trained Pediatricians / Neonatologists who are well versed in Newborn resuscitation. The baby is examined at birth itself to help those who need immediate help.
Knowing the routines:
Delayed cord clamping- Scientific evidence supports the practice of cutting the umbilical cord after delivery, not immediately but after several seconds. This helps improve the baby’s health in the long term
Skin to skin care (STS) - If all goes as planned, our team will help you achieve close STS as soon as your baby is born!
Breastmilk is best- Every normal newborn is helped to breastfeed right at birth.
Lactation experts counsel each and every family, help you troubleshoot and do everything possible to achieve success with breast feeding your little one.
Written handouts about breast feeding are available
Your baby would be examined by a Neonatologist at least twice a day
Newborn screening is done for:
- Congenital Hypothyroidism
- Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
- Hearing defects
- Congenital cyanotic heart disease
- Neonatal jaundice
- Neonatal anthropometry (growth assessments)
Jaundice screening involves clinical examination, transcutaneous bilirubin assessments and blood tests. Detailed follow up plans are communicated to you before discharge.
Vaccinations according to the latest recommendations are administered
Postnatal classes:
No doubt or query is silly!
We understand that as parents, you want to do all the right things for their baby, and thus you have many doubts. We conduct daily education sessions on normal newborn care for you before you go home. You could also use the short videos available on the youtube channel- Team Neonatology, KIMS, Trivandrum
Sick newborns / High risk newborns:
If your pregnancy had concerns or baby has health issues after birth, our unit is equipped to take care of most situations. We are a 33 bed, Level IIIB (National Neonatology Forum India) accredited Neonatal Intensive care unit (NICU). This means that we take care of extreme preterm, extremely low birth weight neonates. Babies born at 24 weeks and beyond have been cared for successfully and fortunately most of them are doing very well on follow up. Please do have a look at our unit outcome statistics too on the separate link.
We take care of sick neonates who need very advanced form of breathing supports, multidisciplinary care including Pediatric Surgery, Laryngology, Plastic Surgery, Retinal procedures, Pediatric Endocrinology, Pediatric Neurology, Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatric Orthopedics, and Medical Genetics. For babies who need cardiac surgery, we collaborate with units close to our hospital. Please feel free to look at the “Medical Professionals” link too (insert link here) to understand in depth, the facilities available.
We have an advanced Neonatal transport facility 24X7 with a full medical team in an equipped ambulance to pick up sick neonates from other hospitals.
We have recently moved to the beautiful KIMS East building with ambience that is sought after. In this unprecedented COVID 19 pandemic situation, this has come as a boon as the building is a physically separated “Clean Zone”.
Parent participation:
“Love is the chain whereby to bind a child to its parents”
Abraham Lincoln
We believe that parents play a vital role in a baby’s recovery to health. Hence, we have no visitation restriction for parents 24X7, communicate every plan and event with you, and involve parents in care processes right from the start
Follow up of normal and high risk neonates:
Our consultants are available in the out patient services every day of the week.
We are proud of our High risk follow up program with dedicated Developmental Pediatrician, developmental therapists to assess and help babies.
Teaching and training:
We have been accredited by National Board of Education, Indian Academy of Pediatrics and National Neonatology Forum for super-speciality training (neonatology) since 2008. More than 45 doctors have completed their training programs and are practising successfully all over the world. We believe that continuous education and experience are what makes our team strive to get better and better.